Cadbury joined the scheme in 2009 and prompted many of the company’s rivals to follow suit.

The new sustainability programme will see Cocoa Life branding replace the Fairtrade logo, which is currently on the front of plain Dairy Milk bars, from May.

However, the logo will not fully vanish from Cadbury packaging – it will just move to the back of the packet instead, on the grounds that Fairtrade will continue to monitor the company’s work.

Cocoa pods being farmed in Ivory Coast (Picture: Getty)

These changes will also be applied to the packaging of other Cadbury products including Drinking Chocolate, Dairy Milk Buttons and Giant Buttons.

The company’s American owners – Mondelez International – say the move is a ‘ground-breaking commitment’ to help more farmers in the developing world than before, claiming it will build on the work it did with Fairtrade.

These changes have been heavily criticised, with some describing it all as the great ‘Cadbury’s fudge’.

Fairtrade logos will move to the back of many Cadbury products

David Marshall, founder of the Meaningful Chocolate Company, a small British Fairtrade-only producer, said: ‘We are shocked by this move.

‘This action will confuse the consumer and many now believe this may put the Fairtrade scheme at risk.’

Under existing Fairtrade rules, companies are made to pay cocoa farmers at least £1,600 per tonne of cocoa – or the market price, which may be higher in certain instances.

Such a rule does not exist under the Cocoa Life programme.

However, Cadbury’s deal with Fairtrade to keep the logo stipulates that producers should not be worse off than under Fairtrade.